6 Curious Facts about Oxford

No Women Allowed

The first colleges of Oxford were built in the 13th-century, but it wasn’t until 1878 that women were admitted to the university. It took until 1920 for them to be awarded degrees, and 1974 for the last of the all-male colleges to open their doors to women.

Hitler

Hitler was going to use Oxford as his capital had he conquered England which is one of the reasons it was not bombed.

Guinness Book of Records

According to the Guinness Book of Records Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum was the first museum in the world to be opened to the public in 1683.

Rivals

The University of Cambridge was in fact founded by Oxford scholars who fled from the first of many ‘Town versus Gown’ riots that erupted in Oxford in 1209 after the murder of a local woman by students.

Alice in Oxford

Alice, from Alice in Wonderland, was a girl named Alice Liddell. She was the daughter of the Dean at Christ Church College, who was a friend of Charles Dodgson (A.K.A. Lewis Carroll), who taught at the College. Dodgson spent much time with Alice and her family, and immortalised her in his books.

Harry Potter

The Great Hall at Christ Church College was used as inspiration for the Hogwarts dining hall in the Harry Potter films. The staircase leading up to the hall was actually used in quite a few scenes in all of the films.

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